


Kissing Booth Conundrum

by driftingskies237



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Arthur can be a prat sometimes, Boys In Love, Established Relationship, Fluff, Jealous Merlin (Merlin), Kissing, Kissing Booths, M/M, and emotionally challenged, but he's in love with merlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:47:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23704855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/driftingskies237/pseuds/driftingskies237
Summary: Arthur is participating in a kissing booth of all things for a school fundraiser. And as Arthur's boyfriend, Merlin just can't have that. Luckily, he has magic to help him.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 243





	Kissing Booth Conundrum

Arthur walks in the doors to their high school completely drenched. He leaves a trail of wet and muddy footprints through the hallway as he goes, shoes squelching with each step. When Merlin spots his boyfriend, he at least has the decency to feel a bit guilty. Just a bit. It’s mostly Arthur’s fault, after all. Because if Arthur hadn’t signed up to help with that **stupid** kissing booth, then Merlin wouldn’t have to worry trying to prevent it from happening, and therefore Arthur wouldn’t have had to deal with the rainstorm that Merlin whipped up last night. So, Merlin may have gone a _bit_ overboard, but he had to be certain that it drowned field.

Of course, Merlin’s concern for Arthur precedes his mission. “Are you okay?” Merlin worries, watching the shivering Arthur as he approaches. Merlin pushes one of his spare jackets from his locker into Arthur’s hands, which Arthur takes gratefully. The jacket is too long on him, sleeves curling over his hands. That, combined with Arthur’s scrunched nose (a sign of annoyance) and dripping hair makes Merlin’s heart speed up. He can’t help but lean and press a kiss to Arthur’s cheek.

“You’re freezing!” Merlin comments, pulling away.

“I know,” Arthur groans. “Hopefully I can towel myself down a bit in the locker rooms before class starts. Stupid, bloody storm came out of nowhere! And I had to help the others try and salvage our tent for almost an hour.”

“…Did it work?” Merlin wonders, hesitantly.

“No, quite a few of the tents for the school fundraiser were ruined,” Arthur responds. _Thank god._ “But then, we found a bunch of old spares in the basement, and we’ll move the fundraiser under the school canopy just in case it rains again.” _Oh, no._

“That’s,” Merlin swallows, “That’s great. I’m glad it’s going to work out.”

“It better be worth it after all this. I mean, first Gaius couldn’t be there to supervise, and we had to find someone else, then this rainstorm happens. Too bad our school really needs these funds.”

“Yeah, too bad,” Merlin mutters.

Gaius was Merlin’s first idea. As the supervisor of the Junior Civitan club, it was his job to be at all the events for them to happen in the first place. Luckily, Gaius is also Merlin’s mentor (and uncle) who he works for in their family’s local drug shop after school. After Merlin begged him to make up some excuse as to why he could not attend, Gaius agreed. Well, actually, first he raised his eyebrow, then said no, at least until Merlin offered to work overtime for free for the next few weeks.

Merlin should have known that Arthur could find another staff member to supervise since he’s the Golden Boy of Camelot High, but he had hoped that all of the other staff members would be predisposed already. Unfortunately, he was mistaken.

Arthur brings Merlin out of his scheming for what to do next by shaking his wet hair like a dog all over Merlin.

“You prat!” Merlin shrieks while Arthur laughs.

“Aw, come on, I’m sorry,” Arthur says, “Hug?”

Merlin knows what he’s planning. “No, no, no—”

It’s too late. Merlin is engulfed in Arthur’s arms, water quickly soaking through his own shirt, leaving a big wet patch when Arthur finally pulls back with a smirk.

“Ugh, I hate you,” Merlin complains, but the smile on his face betrays him.

Arthur grins back. “Yeah, yeah. Wanna make out in the locker rooms before class?”

“I don’t know if you deserve it.”

“ _Mer_ lin,” Arthur whines, reaching for his hand. He then feels Merlin’s hand briefly before looking him over, realizing that Merlin’s now completely dry despite being drenched by Arthur moments ago.

“You magicked yourself dry!” Arthur hisses. “Why did you magic yourself dry but not me?!”

This time, it’s Merlin’s turn to smirk. “Come on, clotpole, we’ll get you dried off in the locker rooms in no time.”

…

One quick make-out session and a few classes later, Merlin hatches another plan. It took him a while to come up with another idea that didn’t involve making his boyfriend or anyone else suffer unnecessarily. Would it be convenient if Arthur suddenly got sick the day of the fundraiser? Yes. But Merlin draws the line at purposefully making Arthur get sick, even if it were the tiniest of fevers. Finally, though, Merlin came up with a foolproof plan. And all it will take is an agreement and a little bit of forged paperwork. He has to act quick, though, since the fundraiser is on Saturday, and today is Thursday.

Since Arthur has a meeting with the Junior Civitan club during lunch in preparation for the event, Merlin has the chance to sneak away from lunch to put his plan into action. He settles into a corner of the library, pulling out his computer and the event request form from the main office that you have to fill out in advance. Of course, Merlin doesn’t have time for that.

Of course, he should’ve known that something would throw a wrench in his plan. Too focused in on his plan, Merlin fails to notice a familiar group of people enter the library in search of him. Before Merlin can even think about concealing anything, though, a head leans into his space, and a hand clasps on his shoulder. Merlin jerks in surprise, fumbling to close his laptop, but it’s too late.

“Merlin, my friend, we were wondering where you went off to,” Gwaine mentions, Lancelot by his side. “When you weren’t at lunch, we thought maybe you and Arthur had ditched us to make out in some random school closet.”

Merlin blushes furiously, but can’t honestly deny that something like that never happens (as shown by their actions this morning before classes). “Yeah, well, Arthur’s too busy getting ready for the fundraiser.”

Merlin tries not to let the bitterness show through in his voice, but he knows the instant he says it that his bad mood is apparent.

“Are you angry at Arthur?” Lancelot asks him curiously.

“No,” Merlin responds, then pauses. “Well, I mean, maybe just a little. He didn’t have to agree to participate in the stupid kissing booth! Who cares if they didn’t have enough volunteers? Stupid, noble prat.”

“You sound kind of mad,” Gwaine points out. “I assume that’s why you’re trying to ruin the fundraiser.”

“R-ruin the fundraiser?” Merlin sputters. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

With that, both Gwaine and Lancelot stare at him as if offended he thinks their oblivious. Under their scrutinizing gazes, Merlin finally cedes. “Fine, okay. But it’s not because I hate fundraisers! I just…I can’t let Arthur kiss all those people. Half of the school is completely infatuated with him.”

“But Arthur’s only infatuated with you,” Lancelot points out. Logically, Merlin knows this already, but it still makes his cheeks flush. Besides, what if during the fundraiser at the kissing booth, Arthur finds someone he likes more? What if he doesn’t think Merlin is good enough anymore? There are definitely people better looking than himself.

“For now,” Merlin mutters under his breath. Lancelot opens his mouth, as if to refute, but Gwaine stops him with a hand on Lancelot’s shoulder.

“Do you need any help? Anyone that needs seducing?” Gwaine asks, wiggling his eyebrows.

Merlin chuckles, “Thanks for the offer, but I think I’ve got it covered. Hopefully by tomorrow, everything will be sorted out.”

* * *

Everything was not sorted out.

Merlin magicked the forged papers saying that a different event was scheduled to happen on the date of the fundraiser, then sent it straight to the principal. He thought at first that everything had worked. Arthur called him late later that night to complain.

“Some other idiot claims they have the entire schoolgrounds booked for the exact date and time of the fundraiser!” Arthur growled in frustration. “A medieval fair! Since when do we even have a medieval fair here?!”

“I don’t know,” Merlin said, feeling relieved. If his punishment for this was just listening to Arthur rant, he’d gladly do it again. Over the years of knowing Arthur, he kind of just learned to tune him out.

“Maybe it’s those jerks from Essetir High School!”

“Why would students from Essetir want to ruin a fundraiser that has nothing to do with them?”

“It’s ** _Essetir_**!”

Merlin went to sleep that night with no worries. He wouldn’t have to cause anymore mishaps or see Arthur kiss anyone on Saturday. Things were finally going to be back to normal.

The next morning, Merlin came into school with a skip in his step. He hummed under his breath as he went, pulling out books for his morning classes. Gwaine and Lancelot approached him from around the corner, and Merlin waved with a grin. Gwaine grimaces. That’s when Merlin realized that everything was not sorted out at all.

“What’s going on?” Merlin asks immediately, looking at Gwaine. Gwaine then looks over at Lancelot, who sighs.

“The fundraiser is still going on,” Lancelot says.

“What?! _How?_ ” Merlin gasps. “The woman that I talked to about the medieval fair was completely on board!”

“Yeah, well apparently Arthur sweet talked her,” Gwaine butts in, “and now they’re sharing the space! It will be a fundraiser slash medieval fair now! Everyone’s even more excited. Everyone in the Junior Civitan Club is going to wear costumes—”

“Gwaine,” Lancelot hisses, shoving his shoulder. “Sorry, Merlin.”

“Ugh,” Merlin groans, rubbing at his temples. “I shouldn’t have underestimated Arthur’s power of sweet talk.”

Gwaine pats his shoulder sympathetically. “I’m sure you’ll think of something else, Merlin.”

The thing is, Merlin _can’t_ think of anything else. It’s too suspicious to just destroy the fundraiser by now. He can’t make any of them sick. Bad weather didn’t work. Scheduling a whole event just made things worse. He could stop Arthur from being able to use his car, but the stupid, athletic prat would just walk there. If he put Arthur to sleep, Arthur would for sure know what’s up. Maybe seeing an elephant rampaging through the school would be enough to scare people away…

“I have an idea,” Lancelot speaks up, surprising both of them. “How about you just tell Arthur how your feeling?”

“Uh, yeah, not going to happen. He’ll just think I’m being an idiot.”

Gwaine’s face suddenly becomes serious. “Merlin—”

“I’ve got to go,” Merlin announces. “I’ll see you guys at the fundraiser.”

He hurries away before either of them can say anything else. And runs straight into Arthur’s chest. He hears the deep rumble of Arthur’s chuckling.

“In a rush?” Arthur wonders, catching his wrist before he can make a move away.

“I need to do some research before class,” Merlin blurts out. It’s not technically a lie, but he’s also omitting a large part of the truth. The part that the research is about how to stop Arthur from participating in the kissing booth.

“Stay?” Arthur murmurs into his ear. He tugs Merlin closer, who in return lets out a squeak. Arthur’s pink, slightly chapped lips are right in front of him. And God, Merlin can’t resist pressing their lips together.

Merlin sighs into the kiss, their noses rubbing up against one another. As they kiss, Merlin suddenly gets an awful flash of worry. Other people will be kissing Arthur tomorrow afternoon. Strangers will get to taste Arthur’s lips, to feel the rough edge from the slight amount of stubble on his cheeks.

Merlin yanks away with an excuse stammering from his mouth, “I-I really have to go. See you later.”

* * *

All Merlin can think about for the next 24 hours is the idea of Arthur kissing a line of people over and over again. The press of their hands against Arthur’s cheek, a hand that isn’t Merlin’s hand. He tries to distract himself by stuffing his face with biscuits and watching crappy reality TV, but even the drama can’t keep his mind off Arthur.

It doesn’t help that Arthur is texting him pictures of his new knight costume that the women who betrayed Merlin offered him. The worst part is, Merlin knows that Arthur will look bloody gorgeous in that fake armor, cape waving from his shoulders. And since Merlin knows that he’ll look sensational without even seeing Arthur in it, he can only imagine what everyone else will think when Arthur struts into the fundraiser tomorrow afternoon. Why does his boyfriend have to be so gorgeous?

 **Arthur:** _You know, we could wear matching costumes tomorrow. I’ll be the knight, and you can be the princess._

Merlin rolls his eyes before typing back

 **Merlin:** _If anything, you’d be the princess. You got a rock in your shoe the other day and complained about it the whole way._

**Arthur:** _It was a pointy rock, Merlin._

**Arthur:** _See you at the fundraiser tomorrow?_

**Merlin:** Yeah, I’ll see you there.

There’s nothing Merlin can do now except wait. Crawling into his bed, Merlin reaches for Arthur’s rugby sweatshirt that Merlin stole. Arthur still occasionally asks if Merlin has seen it, but Merlin always denies it (although Arthur definitely suspects something, if the amount of times he asks is any indication). He breathes in the scent; it’s soft and worn and smells like Arthur. He hugs it to his chest, nuzzling into it. He can picture Arthur’s teasing if he ever saw Merlin doing this.

Somehow, Merlin manages to fall into a fitful sleep late that night. When he does manage to wake up the next morning, he briefly weighs the benefits of pretending that he’s sick instead of going to the fundraiser. But he can’t do that for two reasons. First, Arthur is depending on him to be there. Merlin promised that he would come, and he doesn’t break his promises. Second, and most importantly, he has to keep all those stupid people in line from putting their hands all over his boyfriend.

Merlin doesn’t have any type of costume to dress up in, and much to Arthur’s chagrin, he refuses to wear a dress. As Merlin is getting dressed in his typical jeans and t-shirt, though, he spots Arthur’s sweatshirt still bundled up on his bed. Feeling extra clingy and spiteful that morning, Merlin makes up his mind. He grabs the wrinkled-up sweatshirt and tugs it over his head, relishing the warmth it brings. Opposite of Arthur’s clothes on him, the sleeves are a bit short, but the fabric engulfs his body. Merlin glances at himself in the bathroom mirror, smiling when he sees a faded Pendragon etched on the back.

By the time Merlin arrives, the fundraiser is about to open. He has to give the woman hosting the medieval fair credit. Everything looks amazing, and many people are getting into the costumes. There’s fencing, archery, dress up booths, and more. In fact, if it weren’t for the whole kissing booth debacle, Merlin thinks he would have a great time. The kissing booth, of course, is front and center: a main attraction. The stupid stand hasn’t even opened yet, and already there’s a bunch of people lined up. Nearby, Merlin spots Arthur chatting to one of his fellow club members. Before Merlin can change his mind and duck out of there, Arthur waves him over.

Merlin, unable to resist Arthur’s ridiculous full tooth smile, makes his way through the small crowd. The fake knight armor that Arthur is finishing putting on catches the sun just right as to make his blue eyes sparkle. His hair and cape ruffle in the breeze. Even the fake sword slung on his hip looks good on him. But the worst part? A crown is placed on top of his head. Merlin about dies then and there.

“Like what you see?” Arthur teases.

Merlin hums, refusing to give him the satisfaction. “Your crown is crooked, prat.”

Arthur glares at him and readjusts the plastic crown. “That’s King to you.”

“Sorry, King Prat.”

Arthur barks out laughter at that. “You’re ridiculous.” He glances at his posh watch that Merlin always makes fun of him for, muttering a curse under his breath. “I should probably get started on my shift, but we’ll hang out afterwards.”

He leaves Merlin standing there, arms folded angrily across his chest. The line of people clamors as Arthur swoops into the booth with a suave smile. Merlin and Arthur’s group of friends approach Merlin from behind, taking in his tense posture. Merlin notices them, but doesn’t say anything, too focused on glaring at the people in line to kiss his boyfriend.

“Don’t worry, Merls, Arthur only has eyes for you,” Gwaine reassures him. “Trust me, if it weren’t for a lack of volunteers, the princess wouldn’t be doing this.”

“Besides, it’s just a peck for a good cause,” Percival chimes in, all of them watching as the stand opens.

“I know,” Merlin relents with a heavy sigh. “It’s just…”

“You’re jealous,” Leon completes.

“No! No I’m…” Merlin trails off as the first girl in line eagerly gets a press of Arthur’s lips to her own. “Okay, yeah, fine. I’m jealous. Do you think it’s too late to light the place on fire?”

“You know…” Gwaine trails off, smirk on his thinking face. “Anyone is allowed to get in line and get a smooch from Arthur, including you.”

“I’m not paying to kiss my own boyfriend!”

“I have it on good word that he’d give you a discount.”

Merlin glances over at the lengthening line. It would be fun to yank Arthur into a kiss and show everyone that he is most definitely taken. Before Merlin can fully ponder the idea, though, he’s being pushed into the back of the line by all of his friends. From the stand, Arthur has the audacity to laugh at him, waggling his eyebrows. Merlin just glares back, giving him the middle finger right before the next girl in line comes up to him.

The line goes pretty fast, but to Merlin seeing Arthur kiss person after person just adds to the anger and heat in his belly. Merlin watches them all, arms crossed and gaze firm as he waits in line impatiently. When it’s finally his turn, Arthur flashes him a mocking smile.

“Upset your little magic tricks didn’t work out, Merlin?” Arthur asks, a gleam in his eyes. Merlin freezes, mouth open in surprise.

“Y-you know?!” Merlin gasps. “How did you--?”

“With my amazing powers of deduction, of course,” Arthur grins.

A few feet away, their friends whisper to each other guiltily. Merlin rolls his eyes. Blabbermouths. “I’m going to turn all those snitches into toads.”

Arthur sighs, “Don’t do that. Although that would be entertaining. But I was the one who insisted when I noticed something off with you.”

“You noticed?”

Arthur sends him a look. “Of course I did, idiot. I knew you were jealous from the start, I just didn’t know what lengths you were going to in order to stop me.”

Ignoring the angry looks of waiting people behind him, Merlin asks, “Wait, you knew that I was jealous?! Why didn’t you say anything.”

“Because you’re cute when you’re jealous.”

Sweet talk won’t save Arthur now. “Prat. I was upset and worried, and you didn’t even talk to me? Keep your kiss.”

Merlin goes to march away, but Arthur lurches out of the booth at the last moment, clutching onto Merlin’s sweatshirt. In that moment, Arthur eyes it, just noticing exactly what it is. Despite his obvious urge to comment on it, he holds off momentarily.

“Merlin, look, I’m sorry,” Arthur says quietly. “I—I truly didn’t know that it upset you so much or else I would have come up with some excuse.”

Biting his lip, Merlin admits, “I just…I thought you might find someone else. Someone better.”

“You really are an idiot. I could never find someone better than you, okay? I love you.”

It’s one of the few times that Arthur has been so openly sentimental, especially in public. The people who were waiting impatiently behind them with angry expressions are now watching the two of them with piqued interest. But Merlin doesn’t even pay attention to them. Only Arthur is there in front of him right now, the ghost of his last words swirling around them.

Merlin sniffles, willing himself not to cry as he responds, “I love you too, Arthur.”

Then, finally, Arthur cups his cheek and brings him into a kiss. Their lips meld together softly and sweetly, different than their usual fiery passion. Merlin instinctively wraps an arm around Arthur’s upper shoulders, bringing them closer as best he can with a stand between them. Before either of them can get too involved, Arthur disconnects their lips with a smack.

“I _knew_ you stole my sweatshirt,” Arthur accuses.

Merlin giggles, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just found it this morning.”

Arthur rolls his eyes, pulling Merlin into another kiss, this time briefer. “Keep it. It looks good on you. Do you want me to ditch the booth so we can spend the afternoon together?”

Merlin shakes his head. “Even though it pains me to say it, our school could use the funds. I’ll keep being jealous, though.”

“I sure would hope so. You know…there’s no limit to how many times you can get in line.”

“You read my mind.”

**Author's Note:**

> In case you don't know, Junior Civitan is a service club. Also, I apologize if this seems like an American high school because I am from America and don't know much about England. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!! :)


End file.
